Railway-semaphore



(No Model.) 1 W. ZIMMERMAN.

RAILWAY SBMAPHORE.

No. 254,426. 1 Patented Feb. 28,1882.

iine sses. Inventpr. Maw R- %4/ml@ W W W b WILLIAM. ZIMMERMAN,

= PATEN T OF oHIo eo, ILInNoIs.

RAILWAY-SEM-APHORLE.

. SPECIFICATION forming. part of Letters Patent No. 254,426, dated Fbaa28,1882.

' Application filed Alilans, 1ss1. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM ZIMMERll/IAN, ofChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful 5 Improvements in Railway-semaphores; and Ihereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which myinvention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which- Figure 1represents a side view of the entire apparatus; Fig. 2, a plan view ofthe part N with the levers is removed, and Fig. 3 a modificationof thesame.-

Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

My improved semaphore belongs to that class in which the normal positionof its several parts is so arranged as always to indicate danger, unlessspecially otherwise placed or set; and it consists in operating andholding a series of colored signal boards or lights, or signal-boards towhich are attached colored screens operated, in combination with alight, by means of wire strands kept in a taut or strained condition bymeans of mechanical devices, as hereinafter more fully described andclaimed.

In the drawings, A represents a frame-work, upon which is mounted ashaft, 2', provided with a winch, h, and feathers n, upon which slidethe clutches 1'. here shown, preferably provided with ratchetteeth ontheir peripheries, which engage with a pawl, 0, attached to the side ofa wheel, a. The wheel a is also provided with ratchets, but pointing inthe opposite direction to those of the wheel b, and is firmly attachedto a drum, 0, as is also the ratchet-wheel b to the clutch r.

The levers f, which operate the clutches r, are

Said clutches r are, as

' The leversf are shown connected to arod,

p, by means of short ropes s, and the levers k are alsov attached to arod, c, by cords s. The operation of my improved semaphore apparatus isas follows: When it is desired to remove any one or all danger-signalsthelevers f are each individually orall simultaneously pulled into theposition f by pulling on the rod 19, thereby engaging the ratchet-wheelor clutch b with pawl c, and then-turning the winch It will cause thewheel a and its attached drum cto turn, as shown by the arrow, and windthe rope m on the drum 6, and thereby raise and hold the signal G in theposition G,

the ratchet 70 holding the signal G by means'of the taut rope m, asshown in Fig. 1. The levers ff, when released, are thrown into theposition shown at f by the force of the spring 9, thus leaving eachwheel a and drum 6 held in place by the ratchet k. When it is desired togive any particular signal the lever k corresponding to that desiredsignalisdisengaged from the ratchets of the wheel a, when the board Gwill instantly fall into the position G, indicating danger, and in whichit will remain until again wound up, as before described. It will beobserved that by this arrangement any one of a series or any number ofsignal-boards may be wound up from or dropped into the danger positionwith equal facility; also, that the danger signals by this arrangementare given with thegrea-testpossible speed instantly, either by design oraccidentally, as when the rope m or any part of the winding apparatusbreaks, so that dangersignals are always given until their cause isascertained and removed.

Lever L, Fig. 3, is pivoted at q, and held in its place by a pin, t, inwhich, as shown, the rope or strand mis taut, and when a dangersignal isto be given is thrown into the position L.

From the preceding description and arrangement of the operating parts itwill be observed that the rope m inits normal condition is slack, andwhen the signal is at all right itis taut, the condition of the ropes,in connection with that of the signal-boards, being the reverse of thosein general use. The rope m and drums and levers connected to a certainsignal, G,

are made of the same'color nal G, for obvious reasons.

I claim- 1. A signal apparatus, M, in combination with an operatingapparatus, N, consisting of as that of the siga drum, 6, clutch r,leverf, rope m, and feathered shaft 2', operating substantially asispeci2. The shaft i, provided with feathers rn and clutches r, operated bylevers f, in combination with the drum 0. ratchet-wheel a, pawLk,

rope m, and signal apparatus M, substantially,

as specified.

3. The feathered shaft 1', providedwith clutch.

5. In combination with asignaling apparatus consisting of a housinghaving an end opening, into and out of which pass colored signal-boards,and side'openings to expose an interior light for the purpose ofbringing before it screens attached to and forming a part of thesignal-boards, and' of the same color, arranged to fall automatically,the strand, and mechanism, substantially such as herein described,oonnected therewith, whereby said signals are held out of danger, and bymeans ,lofiwhich any one or number of signals may be dropped into orremoved from the position of danger, and in which, by the breaking ofsaid operating. apparatus, the signal boards and lights will indicatedanger, all constructed to operate substantially alstand forthe purposespecified.

WILLIAM zI- ER n,

. Witnesses:

WILLIAM R. ,WORRALL, I v G. W. ROBERTS;

